Hostile crowd awaits Vietnamese envoy

Press, 14 June 1978, Page 6

Hostile crowd awaits Vietnamese envoy

PA Wellington A hostile crowd of protesters provided a rowdy reception outside Wellington Airport for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s first Ambassador to New Zealand (Mr Nguyen Ba Bao) yesterday.

Inside Wellington Airport’s, terminal building stood a welcoming group of grey-1 suited, smiling Vietnamese Outside was a group of j chanting protesters, carrying placards saying, “Free Vietnam,” flying the old South Vietnamese yellow-and-red flag and singing old songs from the non-communist New Zealand protocol officials swept Mr Bao past j lounge where the Soviet, Ambassador to New Zealand i • Mr O. P. Selyaninov) was among the welcoming party. The protesters were members of the Vietnamese for Freedom Movement. Most were refugees flown last! year to New Zealand from refugee camps in South-East Asia by the Inter-Church Commission on Immigration. It is the first visit to New Zealand by Mr Bao, who is accedited to Australia and based at Canberra. In Wellington, he will present his credentials to: the Governor-General (Sir Keith Holyoake), who was I Prime Minister and Minister | of Foreign Affairs at the I time New Zealand first committed troops to support the

South in the Vietnam war.

Sir Keith will entertain i the Ambassador to lunch today after the credentials ceremony at Government House. I The Ambassador will have a busy round of meetings with Ministers and officials i over the next four days. Mr Bao is also expected to meet Vietnamese students here and some of his colleagues in the Diplomatic Corps. But he will not meet the dean of the corps, the Chinese Ambassador (Mr Peij liTsien-chang), who is away! on a visit to China. There has been some speculation that Mr Pei might! have left to avoid a possibly embarrassing meeting with I ! the Vietnamese envoy, I whose country’s relations I ! with China have cooled • markedly over alleged mis- | I treatment of Chinese in; ! Vietnam. But New Zealand[ 'Foreign Ministry sources! said that Mr Pei’s visit to I China had been planned for some time. Among the thornier subjects expected to be disI cussed during the Ambassa-i 'dor’s talks is the question of! reunification of families living in New Zealand and ini Vietnam.

New Zealand has agreed

ito about 24 families in Vietnam joining relatives here, I but only one family was I given permission to leave by the Vietnamese authorities last year, according to New I Zealand officials. ; There has recently been ;some progress and Vietnamese officials have said they j will give permission for (more to come, but progress is still slow. New Zealand has taken (about 450 people who have [fled from Vietnam and approval has been given for another 50 families to come here. The Vietnamese Government still owns a house in Wellington, which has been looked after by the Yugoslav Embassy since the last South Vietnamese Ambassador left it, and also has money from the sale of Embassy vehicles held for it in an account in Wellington. New Zealand did not own any building in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) but left cars, furniture, books, paintings, and other property when the last Ambassador, Mr Norman Farrell, and his staff flew out in April, 1975.